The Adnostic

I would occasionally see wildlife in LA. Probably the most exotic was a hawk, a coyote, or a deer. I think you're more likely to see celebrities than fauna in that town.

Here in Vancouver we get a completely different set of urban wildlife, even among the glass skyscrapers that my husband and I live in. A few weeks ago I saw a raccoon scurry across Nelson Street, but you see those all the time in Stanley Park and they're even known to get pretty brave if you're patient enough.

The other day we were taking a walk around Crab Park along the East side of the downtown peninsula and we saw a wild brown ferret jumping in and out of the rocks near the ferry terminal. We followed it down the bank and he paused to give us a quick look and then continued on his way.

As we walked further toward Canada Place we saw a leopard seal doing his aquatic acrobatics. Every so often he would pause and look at us with those onyx eyes to make sure we were still watching and then continue his swimming routine. That was a neat day.

But nothing prepared us for the day that the entire city went berserk over a gray whale that had found its way into False Creek which runs along the Western side of the downtown peninsula near our apartment. There is no other way to put it, the town went ape-sh*t. Mentions of the whale were all over twitter, but pictures and video were slow to surface.

Dave couldn't stand it anymore so we hopped on our bikes and rode down to the last place it was spotted to try to see it for ourselves. We stood there with about twenty other people and waited for the elusive gray whale to show itself. After about twenty minutes of twiddling our thumbs, Dave asked one of the water taxi drivers if he knew where it was, apparently it hanging out at the other end near the science museum so we got back on or bikes and headed over.

There were people on every railing and bridge trying to get a glimpse of the whale. Lots of locals had broken out their kayaks and were eagerly trying to get up close and personal with the large mammal and the Coast Guard was doing its best to prevent such an occurrence. Helicopters buzzed overhead to get footage for the local media. Only high speed police chases get that kind of coverage where I come from.

We found an unoccupied bit of rocky shore to claim as our viewing territory and waited. We didn't see much. Maybe a couple spouts and a breech here and there, but there was one breech that happened very close to where we were standing and that made it all worth it.

Here is a video that gives you a much better view than we ever got:

The one on CTV BC is even better.

Lately I have been trying to adhere to the Michael Pollan and Mark Bittman views on what to eat and how much meat to consume in particular. You probably know the Pollan mantra by now: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants" and in this talk by Bittman from the EG conference explains his views on why we need to eat less meat:

The meat industry contributes to greenhouse gasses and pollution. Eating too much meat increases your risk of cancer and other diseases. We can also contribute the high levels of obesity to the meat and processed food rich western diet. The recommended amount of meat that we should be eating per week is a half pound and the average American eats that in a single day. Because of this I have become a Fexitarian, someone who is mostly vegetarian but eats meat and animal proteins on a semi-regular basis.

I'm never going to stop eating meat, but I've greatly reduced the amount of meat that I consume. My husband and I usually eat out for lunch and I usually try to order vegetarian when we do. When I cook at home I almost always cook vegetarian. I do this or two reasons. One reason is simply because cutting meat out of the shopping list makes for a cheaper grocery bill. The other reason is that we eat out regularly and the usual one vegetarian option on a restaurant menu is never nearly as appetizing as the MANY meat rich options available. If I see a vegetarian option that looks appealing, I'll order it, but most of the time I'd rather get the steak.

Not buying as much meat also makes it easier for me to justify buying more organic and local produce and opting for the local and organic meats and cheeses. I don't know why, but it's nice to be able to know what farm your meat and cheese came from.

Here are a few places that make it easier for me to flex my vegetarian muscle:
Nuba - A Mediterranean restaurant that serves a wide variety of vegetarian plates and pita sandwiches.
The local farmers market - Naturally. I just wish they all were open year round. I'll have to get saddle bags for my bike so that I can do some of my shopping at the far away winter market next year.
Choices/Urban Fare/Whole Foods - WF you're awesome, but you're across the bridge. Choices and Urban Fare, I wish you would try harder to sell local foods and please sell a wider variety of organic and I wish you would label your produce better.
Epicurious & Tastespotting - Most of the recipes in my cookbooks rely on meat. It's nice to be able to go online and find tons of vegetarian options to choose from.

It's still not easy eating green, but resources like this make it a lot easier than it used to be.